Mark Your Calendar!!!
Is this the future of Spring Hill with a school on Cleaborne Road?
Maury County School Board Wants Public Input
If you have a question about the Maury County school system, school board members want to hear it.
They have set a 6:30 p.m. Tuesday community meeting at Spring Hill High School to hear concerns, ideas and questions regarding schools.
A brief description of the Maury County Board of Education's five-year strategic plan and expected growth will be presented and members of the audience can submit questions prior to the meeting.
Information gathered at the meeting will be used for goal setting and future growth.
Why is Maury County so hot to trot on this particular site? It makes absolutely no sense right now when there are so many other good pieces of land being offered in other areas of the city. Here's your chance to tell the Maury County School Board why a school on Cleaborne Road is a bad idea right now without improvements to the CSX Railroad crossings on both Cleaborne and Beechcroft Roads!
If I were the school board, I would take ALL the land being offered by developers on all the sites. It would mean a savings of millions on hundereds of acres of land across this city. Build on this particular site sometime down the road when the city is ready, both from a growth standpoint and a roads standpoint!
Think I'm kidding about this site on Cleaborne Road? Maury County Director of Schools Eddie Hickman seems to think that it is 'more feasible':
Cleaborne Road Site Preferred
Harvest Point is a 463-acre, mixed-use development that could bring 1,224 homes, a 10-acre commercial district and a new middle school to Cleaborne Road.
The Maury County School Board has two possible sites for the middle school — one in Harvest Point and the other off Port Royal Road.
Schools Director Eddie Hickman said at the Feb. 6 meeting of the Planning Commission the Harvest Point property was "more feasible" because of the necessary costs of developing the Port Royal site.
41 comments:
I think that there is some funny business going on here to get the school board to be interested in this site over some of the others available.
Developing the land on Port Royal might cost more, but you have Saturn Pkwy and an interstate to access it. Cleburne Rd would be a MASSIVE mistake. The lack of common sense in the decision making process astounds me.
My God! Have they no common sense?
you guys have never been to a Maury county school board meeting?
I can assure everyone those board members could care less about the project growth in Spring hill
all they talk about is Columbia.
I've been to severla of them last year I never once saw Vince Springer chime in when it came to spring hill.... He sat in silence and let a bunch of other members talk about spring hill.
i saw this several times.. it was very SAD!
You talk about all the other sites available in the city, where are they? You say you want your kids in the middle school back in Spring Hill, but city leaders say it ok to put the new middle school in Columbia. Do you not a problem with a school built on site with flooding and a new 500kv power line (to be built in the next 4 to 5 years) crossing it (Port Royal site). If there is any funny business going on maybe you need to ask why this is the only site the city leaders are willing to back.
Anon @ 9:25
I am not sure what you have heard, but I do not think that our city leaders are in favor of the site on Cleiborne Rd. I think that it is pretty clear that most of our city leaders are in favor of the Port Royal site. I can only think of one or two "city leaders" in favor of a site in Neapolis or on Cleiborne Rd. I bet you can guess who those 1 or 2 probably are?
500kv lines are ok to run through a subdivision, but not ok next to a school?
anon @ 10:05
You missed the point, I was saying the city leaders only wanted the Port Royal site.
Also people have a chose were to buy a home, next to a power line or not. I for one do not want my kids playing under or near a massive power line.
The city leaders who do not own land on Cleburne....Charles Raines and his developer buddy have an investment over there....
anon. @ 12:11
You are incorrect. There are those that want people to believe that was the only site preferred by city leaders. Actually, city leaders would like to see any site in the high growth areas. Cleburne Rd. does not qualify as one of those areas.
anon. @ 14:47 is correct in stating that there are a few who would benefit greatly by placing a school on the western edges of the city.
Voters beware! Alderman candidates Cantrell, Pickard, McCulloch, & Gabriel are supported by members of the Home Builders Association and big money developers.
What, the identical signs for Pickard and Cantrell, with McCulloch and Gabriel signs in Alderman Cantrell's yard not enough evidence of a coalition for you?
Did anybody else leave the meeting tonight with the distinct impression that nobody wants to address Cleburne Rd? I made one call to Mr. Boshers last week and he directly refuted what Mr. Hickman said tonight.
Get ready people, you thought Derryberry Lane was an expensive mess paid by you and me, you haven't seen anything yet!
Hopefully Alderman Duda will stick to his guns on this one.
Duda?? He wasn't even at the meeting tonight!! He lost my vote!!
uuh, Duda's not even running!?!?
Was Duda going to be your write-in candidate? If you were wondering which candidates were there that you actually CAN vote for: Rick Graham, Tim Holm, Michael Dinwiddie, Sharon Cantrell, Viola Pickard.
Tammy Mezera was there too.
06:10 said - Was Duda going to be your write-in candidate?
Like Ron says, he already has two votes on everything, why not give him a third?. I like Ron's idea, lets vote Ron in and remove Duda from the planning commission. He asks way tooooooo many questions and is costing this city money.
Anon @ 6:49
Too bad mr duda cannot be removed for another 2 years from either of his seats. He will be there asking his questions for a long time, and I for one am extremely happy about that fact!
I see what the problem is here. Is there some deals already in place around the Port Royal site? Who is benefiting from those deals. Who with the city has ties to developments in this area? Something to thing about. Could it be these people pointing the finger at the Cleburne Rd. site?
Anon @ 7:46
I think that you are forgetting a few facts. The Cleiborne road site is being considered for one reason and one reason only. It is being used as an artificial growth spurt for the area of town that there is very little growth and for the area of town that is owned by people with ties to Maury County Government.
The Port Royal site makes perfect sense considering all of the growth taking place in that sector of the city. In the future the school board is going to have to place many schools in the area, so why are we looking at the Cleiborne Road site now, when there are a tremendous amount of question marks surrounding the road improvements and railroad crossing improvements on Cleiborne Road.
The back room deals in this city left with the former mayor, and will leave when Ms. Cantrell, Mr. McCulloch, and Ms. Pickard are voted out of office in April.
Who are these people with ties to Maury County Government? Also, I am not sure there isn't more back room deals now than ever before in the city of Spring Hill.
Yes, let's vote Ron in. And where's that debate he challenged everyone to? They must all be afraid of him.
Why is there an issue with an Alderman asking questions? That is the only way to get a clear understanding of any projects brought before the planning commission. How exactly is he costing the city money? Actually, he is making sure the city is not just throwing anything out there which would drive away incoming business. People, please do yourselves a favor and get out of Spring Hill to see what has worked in other cities.
I support many of Ron's ideas and I also support Duda. I don't think that having Duda on both boards is a problem. If he wasn't on the Planning Commission - NONE of the alderman would know what the heck went on there - because they rarely show up and based on conversations with some of them - they don't read the minutes either. Duda is the only one that does due diligence and tries very hard to do what is right for the city. I think the problem lies with developers (or their employees) sitting on the board and the planning commission.
At times it is in an embarrassment to live in Spring Hill and Maury County. Why is it that the City of Spring Hill and Maury County cannot work together? Each and every time we have projects which require joint attention, we have to listen to a lot of crap?
We have a developer who has stated his desire to donate a tract of land to the Maury County School Board for a school site. The value of this property could exceed 1 million dollars. The developer is willing to make this major contribution because he knows that his development will impact the schools and he wants to do his part to make a contribution back to the community. He was also asked by the leaders of Spring Hill to consider a school site from the beginning of his development plans. Why is this same site no longer a good site?
The school site is only one component of a very nice and well planned development. This development has multiple types of housing and plenty of recreational areas incorporated into it. I believe it will be a very nice development that we can be proud of.
What I do not understand is why is the leadership of Spring Hill is so opposed to that site? I also have a problem with the leadership of Maury County and Spring Hill, in the fact that they both believe that we should not spend one dime on road improvements for this development, which just happens to include a school site. The developer has donated a miilion dollar piece of property. The developer has agreed to make many improvements to all of the roads surrounding his development. The number of improvements requested grows each and every day. Are we going to ask him to make improvements to Interstate 65 next?
Mayor Leverette has stated that the Cleaburne Rd. site is not where the growth is. He should be committed to improving the opportunity of having an additional school in our community. He has stated that he had rather the school be built in Columbia, and that the city would not assist in any way with the school if built on Cleaburne Rd. I cannot recall a tremendous amount of growth going on near the site for proposed hospital either. Since there is no growth there what made it the perfect spot. I have not seen in HCA's growth assessment that Spring
Hill is only going to grow to the eastern side of town. I believe that his support of the hospital venture implies that all of Spring Hill and the surrounding areas will grow.
If the city leaders want the school built on the eastern side of town, why have they and the many developers on that side of town not come up with a better site. It is not a complicated process. Any developer can come in and aqree to donate land with no strings attached at any time. In fact the school board would love to have approxiametly 100 to 125 acres in the northern end of Maury county.
The School Board considered the proposed site on Port Royal and do not believe it is suitable for the construction of a middle school due to many reasons. The major reason given for not being able to use the site is development cost. The site may be suitable for a differant use by the school board at a later date.
Mr. Duda says that he believes the city would assist with the development cost of the Port Royal site, but I have not seen or heard of him making a motion before the BOMA to this effect.
If we want quality schools in Spring Hill and Maury County we will have to step up to the plate and be serious about our committment to build these schools. Sure the developer will make a profit from his development. That is what he is in the business to do. It however is our responsibility to provide the needed schools to educate our youth. Our youth consist of our sons and daughters, our grand children, or the children of our friends and neighbors. The city and county both will receive impact fees and will have an increased tax base. The city of Spring Hill, even with no property tax at this time will benefit. Each time they do a special census, they brag about all of the additional money they will recieve. The residents of this development will shop in Spring Hill and Maury County. Each time they shop it brings in tax revenue.
Why is it then that the leaders of our community and county cannot sit down with all parties invloved and come up with a solution to any real problems that may exist? The leaders of the city and county both want to whine and cry. The developer has contributed, why can't our government bodies contribute? Our leaders need to get serious about the process of educating our youth. The solution to any perceived problems could be worked out by real leadership! Why can't the City of Spring Hill along with Maury and Williamson Counties be known for putting education first?
True leaders of any good community would recognize the fact that we need quality schools and must be willing to be proactive. The citizens of Spring Hill who live in the city and the northern end of the county deserve a middle school.
If you think a ten foot wide road is a good site for a school, then you have even less common sense then the community leaders you are talking about
Anon @ 15:09
If you think that this road will stay @ 10' wide pass the time the school would open, with all the growth in Spring Hill, you must be dumber than a box of rocks.
Williamson County does understand the importance of education. That is why many residents refuse to move outside the county limits. Maury County, on the other hand, has had issues with education for a long time now....
Not dumber than a box of rocks---name one road in Spring Hill that has been widened, then tell me why Cleburne will be fast tracked???
anon. @ 13:54
I'm not sure which planet you stepped off!
The hospital site is in the epicenter of the growth occurring in south Spring Hill. Maybe you ought to inform yourself before spreading misinformation.
Mayor Leverette has been one of leading advocates for more schools in Spring Hill. Schools are an emotional issue and rightfully so. However, you do not ignore what you are trying to accomplish in order to add to the already existing growth problems we have. I commend Mayor Leverette for standing up to what he believes is the right thing for our community. Mayor Leverette and many others have certainly been out front on implementing proper planning.
Cleburne Rd. is NOT proper planning.
You continue to do the same as you have always done and you will continue to get the same results you have always gotten.
There are those that are attempting to force growth westward when we need to manage the current growth areas.
By the way anon. @ 13:54, are you aware that Mayor Leverette has meet independently with Director Hickman and Walter BoBo to discuss the growth in Spring Hill and even invited, which they excepted, to make a presentation to the Planning Commission on Maury Counties School Board "Five year Plan." Also, Spring Hill has provided data "Subdivision Matrix" that clearly shows with hard data where the growth is in Spring Hill. The information being utilized to justify the site on Cleburne Rd is based on projected numbers not real numbers which is occurring along the Port Royal, Kedron Rd, & Saturn Parkway corridors.
anon. @ 13:54 you will probably be one of the first to step forward and complain about the growth problems, lack of infrastructure improvements, the near misses of a bus and train colliding, should the school be built on Cleburne Rd.
Where's flip-flop Ron's opnion when we need it?
Did you really just say that the hospital is in the EPIcenter of growth in Southern Spring Hill? If what I am seeing when I drive by the site is the EPIcenter, then everyone should be on the lookout for ghosts and rolling tumbleweeds for years to come.
anon @ 16:08
Derryberry Ln, Town Center Pkwy, ect...
Etc.? Not sure if that constitutes a road. You gave me the road near city hall with very little traffic. Now, please provide me the answer as to why Cleburne would be fast tracked? I have a hunch who would be answering this---you must be part of the Cameron-Raines-Williams crew.
Ok, ok, ok...
Yes, schools are important and all... and so are safe roads... But let's get down to business here and let's talk about the most pressing issue of the day.
It's time for coffee talk!
Topic: Where in Spring Hill should Starbucks locate it's first establishment. Should it bully its way into the thriving Main Street scene, or should it be a little progressive and a little more friendly to its competition and locate itself along the Port Royal/Saturn Pky corridor?
Discuss...
anon @ 9:24
Not even close, but it sure sounds like you have ties to one or more of the devlopers around the Port Royal area. Just for the record there are buses on Cleburne Road every school day and there has not been a problem. There are Rail Road Tracks in Columbia, Mt. Pleasant, Culleoka and on the way to Hampshire, this is nothing new.
Mt Pleasant, Culleoka, and Hampshire.....apples
Spring Hill.....oranges
No comparison
What is it that makes them different? They are all county schools like it or not.
I went to the School Board meeting last week and the work session last night and the one opinion that keeps circulating in my mind is - stop fighting and start building. To my understanding, these are the facts: Spring Hill is going to need 10 schools in 5 - 8 years (that alone should alram you), BOTH Port Royal and Cleburne properties (per the School Board administrator at the School Board meeting) are needed AND WILL BE USED, the Cleburne Rd property will mainly service ONLY the 1224 homes being built around it (per the School Board administrator at the work session), it will take 10 years to build that subdivision (per the School Board administrator and developer at the work session).
The Port Royal site - that flood plane issue is an issue now, but won't be in 6 months when they need to build there (remember it WILL be used)?
The Cleburne Rd site: that property is going to be built anyway. What in the world is the big rush for?
There is a third site that was mentioned, the honey farm south of Spring Hill. Granted, it's not in Spring Hill, but it doesn't have a road issue OR a flood plane issue and it's only a five minute ride for the children it will service.
I like Domingo's approach to this - listen...listen...listen some more...and then make a logical suggestion. I'd like to echo his thought, but carry it out to full term. Step 1: Build the school on the honey farm. This will take a couple of years to complete. Step 2: Start building the subdivision that's been approved (or will be on Monday). This will take 10 years to complete (8 years from the completion of Step 1). Step 3: Build the school on Port Royal. This will take 2 years (Step 2 will be 6 years from completeion). Step 4: Build the school on Cleburne. This will take 2 years. The subdivision around it will be 4 years from completion and will actually have enough children in it at that point to service the school. Plus we will have had 6 years to evaluate the traffic issue on Cleburne Rd and do something about it.
In my opinion, anytime someone is trying to ramrod a decision through with this much haste, there is an ulterior motive behind it. Perhaps the city leaders need to back and re-read the story of King Soloman when he had to deal with the stolen baby (1 Kings 3:16-28).
Am I making this too simple or is there something I don't see?
MD
Mike,
I applaud you maturity on this issue. You show a lot of foresight. Thank you for not getting caught in the emotionality of all the back and forth needless bickering. When the powers that be finally come together to work with each other for the betterment of the city as a whole (not their own wallets and retirement plans), then we will begin to see some amazing things happen in Spring Hill.
Now… what’s going on with the Starbucks?
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